Location-based services can be used to enhance mobile applications. For example, information presented by an application or processing performed by an application can be based on or influenced by the location of a mobile device. As a specific example, advertising presented in an application can be based on a mobile device's location, as well as other environmental factors. For example, an advertisement for an establishment can be presented via a mobile application in response to a detection that the mobile device is within a threshold radius of the establishment. When users at a particular location or area share common environmental and/or contextual contexts or statuses, multiple users may trigger the advertisement.
To determine the location of a particular device, a backend server or mobile application may trigger a request for the current location of the particular device. The request may be in response to a standard location tracking or location association operation, or in response to an event. Additional information associated with the device and/or the user associated with the device can be used to provide further context.
Particular notifications (e.g., push notifications) may be associated with a particular application installed on a mobile device of a user, a particular service provider providing data or phone service to the mobile device, or can otherwise be associated with an external provider or system capable of accessing recent and/or current information about the context of the mobile device.